Because data access may be perceived by principals as overwhelming or irrelevant rather than helpful (Wayman, Spikes, & Volonnino, 2013), data access does not guarantee effective data use. The data-based decision making literature has largely focused on teacher use of data, considering less often data-based organizational improvements for the…

Mobile technology is increasing its presence in the educational environment. The public school district in this study has made great strides improving technology usage in schools with updated hardware, extensive district-wide infrastructure, a technology plan, and professional development. While the district has been successful in some areas, like…

Attrition of special education teachers is a national problem resulting in lost monetary resources, school climate discontinuity, and lower student achievement. Within a small, rural district in southern Indiana, special education teacher attrition has risen since 2008 and continues to rise. District administrators want to retain teachers to…

This research study was designed to investigate the impact of constructivist-centered professional development in vocabulary instruction for 14 upper-grade elementary school teachers. The researcher facilitated 10 training sessions held in small groups, during grade level meetings at an urban public school, to develop individual and collective…

Since the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, interactive whiteboards (IWBs) have become a reality and a popular concept in addressed technology use in elementary and secondary schools and the importance of 21st century skills, integrating classrooms across the United States and abroad. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the…

A challenge that professional development coordinators and instructional leaders face is designing and implementing professional development that is the most effective for improving teaching and learning in their school. To determine what is the perceptions and beliefs of elementary teachers' value of and responses to their professional…

Because of public concern over the effectiveness of our schools, a new evaluation system was put in place to hold principals and teachers directly accountable for student academic achievement. Part of this evaluation included student performance on state assessments. The purpose of this qualitative study sought to examine how the transformation…

School leaders must ensure the schools meet U.S. federal and state guidelines; thereby increasing test scores, as stipulated by No Child Left Behind (NCLB) mandates (Sloan, 2007). Increased student achievement continues to be the focus of state education departments because the number of students graduating from high school decreased and…

This qualitative phenomenological study explored the impact of the professional development model, "Powerful Teaching and Learning" (PTL) on teachers' sense of efficacy of 17 secondary teachers at a single high school in Washington State. Qualitative data was collected through in-depth interviews and analyzed using the methodical…

Over the past decade there have been several national reform movements focused on increasing the completion rates of community college students, yet those rates have remained at about 38%. If community colleges are to be reformed, much of this reform must focus on the faculty, their classroom practices, their perspectives on teaching and learning,…

As the pressure on schools to meet higher and higher expectations with less and less resources increases, educators seek to explore school models which are centered on reforms that increased the likelihood of meeting this challenge. One reform initiative which has received much attention is the utilization of teacher leadership to improve school…

This study aimed to build a professional learning community collaboratively among high school teachers for lifelong growth to minimize teacher isolation, discomfort, and fear. The study was driven by a compelling desire to extend personal learning in ways to impact the school learning community. The foundation for this study was the body of…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the lived experiences of primary classroom teachers participating in collaborative data-driven decision making. Hermeneutic phenomenology served as the theoretical framework. Data were collected by conducting interviews with thirteen classroom teachers who taught in grades kindergarten through…

For this qualitative study, I explored and described how superintendents and principals interpreted and experienced a sustained professional development process focusing on instruction and student learning, a form of Elmore's Superintendents in the Classroom (SITC) Network. Specifically, I examined how the addition of principals in the SITC…

A federal policy in the United States has required sweeping changes in K-12 education. With No Child Left Behind legislation, schools are challenged to create conditions that bring each student to federally-set academic proficiency levels. Many schools have become more attentive to data about student performance and how it can inform their…